1. Measurement of FCS and CSI
Opening notes..
Collecting data in a period of instability
Value of this information
Dedication of the team involved
Importance of getting this information out to provide assistance to Yemenis deeply affected by a tumultuous year
Measurement of FCS and CSI
27-28 May 2015 – Roma Tre University

2. Contents Food consumption score (FCS) Coping Strategy Index (CSI)
Explore the questionnaire module
Calculation of the FCS
Creation of food consumption groups (FCGs)
Presenting outputs
Coping Strategy Index (CSI)
Two types of CSI
Questionnaire Module
Calculation

3. Food expenditure Share
Explore the questionnaire module
Calculation of the FES
Creation of Food expenditure groups (FEGs)
Presenting outputs

4. Definitions Household food consumption
The consumption patterns (frequency * diversity) of households over the last seven days
Household coping strategies
Activities to which household resort to obtain food, income, and/or services when their normal means of livelihood have been disrupted
I changed (frequency + diversity)

5. Share of expenditure on food - An indicator of vulnerability to food insecurity
“Households that spend a large proportion of their income on food (greater than 75 per cent, say) are vulnerable to food deprivation because, regardless of their current food consumption status, if they were to experience a reduction in income it would likely be accompanied by a reduction in food consumption or the quality of food eaten.” (IFPRI, 2007)

6. The Food Consumption Score (FCS)

7. The Food Consumption Score
It is calculated by observing the frequency by which households consume various food items over a seven day recall period
Households are asked, “in the last seven days, how many days did you eat ______? “
Each food item is put into a category and the categories are given a weight based on its relative nutritional value

8. Data collection
The data required is collected according to usual food items consumed that are specific to the country’s context
Food items are grouped into standard food groups
The difference between foods and condiments should be captured during the data collection
Give example : fish powder in mali

9. Food consumption module

10. Calculation steps
Using the appropriate thresholds, recode the variable food consumption score, from a continuous variable to a categorical variable.
Sum the weighed food group scores, creating the food consumption score.
Multiply the value obtained for each food group by its weight and create new weighted food group scores.
Sum all the consumption frequencies of food items of the same group and recode the value of each group above 7 as 7.
Using standard 7-day food frequency data, group all the food items into specific food groups.

11. FCS = ∑xi * ai Calculation of FCS
Where, FCS Food consumption score xi Frequencies of food consumption = number of days for which each food group was consumed during the past 7 days (7 days was designated as the maximum value of the sum of the frequencies of the different food items belonging to the same food group) ai Weight of each food group

12. Food groups and weights
Food Item (customize for local context)
Food groups
Weight 1
Maize , maize porridge, rice, sorghum, millet pasta, bread and other cereals
Cereals and Tubers 2
Cassava, potatoes and sweet potatoes 3
Beans. Peas, groundnuts and cashew nuts
Pulses 4
Vegetables and leaves
Vegetables 5
Fruits
Fruit 6
Beef, goat, poultry, pork, eggs and fish
Meat and fish 7
Milk yogurt and other diary
Milk 8
Sugar and sugar products
Sugar
0.5 9
Oils, fats and butter
Oil 10
Condiments

13. Description of weights
Food groups
Weight
Justification
Staples 2
Energy dense, protein content lower and poorer quality than legumes, micro-nutrients
Pulses 3
Energy dense, high amounts of protein but of lower quality than meats, micro-nutrients, low fat
Vegetables 1
Low energy, low protein, no fat, micro-nutrients
Fruit
Meat and fish 4
Highest quality protein, easily absorbable micro-nutrients, energy dense, fat. Even when consumed in small quantities, improvements to the quality of diet are large.
Milk
Highest quality protein, micro-nutrients, vitamin A, energy. However, milk could be consumed only in very small amounts and should then be treated as condiment and therefore re-classification in such cases is needed.
Sugar
0.5
Empty calories. Usually consumed in small quantities.
Oil
Energy dense but usually no other micro-nutrients. Usually consumed in small quantities

14. FCS thresholds
The FCS is a continuous variable (minimum of 0 and a maximum of 112) but describing food security with mean values and ranges is not easily interpreted
To describe the food security situation, food consumption groups are created based on standard thresholds
The thresholds can be adapted based on knowledge of the consumption behaviour in the country / region of interest

15. Standard thresholds Poor food consumption 0 – 21 0-28
Food consumption group
Standard threshold
Adjusted thresholds with oil and sugar eaten on a daily basis
Poor food consumption
0 – 21
0-28
Borderline food consumption
Acceptable food consumption
>35.5
>42.5
Say that even the worse households have to consume sugar and oil

16. Why 21?
A score of 21 is a bare minimum. Scoring below 21 means that a household does NOT eat at least a staple and vegetables on a daily basis and therefore is considered to have a very poor diet.
The value 21 is derived from:
daily frequency * weight of vegetables
+ daily frequency * weight of staples
(7 * 2 = 14) + (7 * 1 = 7) = 21

17. Why 35?
Households with a FCS between 21 and 35 are considered to have borderline food consumption
The value 35 comes from an expected daily consumption of staple and vegetables complemented by a frequent (4 day / week) consumption of oil and pulses.
(staple * weight + vegetables * weight + oil * weight + pulses * weight)
(7 * 2) + (7 * 1) + (4 * 0.5) + (4 * 3) = 35

18. How to adapt the thresholds
Even though these thresholds are standardized there is room for adjustment based on evidence
Consider the basic/minimum food consumption in the country
Daily consumption of oil and / or sugar can raise the FCS without adding much nutritional value
Based on the data collected and knowledge of the country, try to define the thresholds for poor and borderline consumption
The thresholds should only be changed based on evidence and should remain the same if you want to compare the FCGs of different surveys

19. Example of adapting the thresholds
Yemen (2009)
Daily consumption of oil and sugar over-inflated the FCS of households with poor food consumption
A study by IFPRI sought to relate FCS and actual caloric intake. It was found that an FCS of 28 was highly correlated with a caloric intake of 2,100 kcal / day.
The thresholds were adjusted to 28 / 42 accordingly

20. Presenting Outputs - Compare means
Region
FCS
North 45
Central 38
South 27
We use compare mean when we analyse a continuous variable with a categorical
Example:
Mean FCS by region
FCG by urban/rural
Age household head by FCG
Urban
Rural
Poor FC
10%
18%
Borderline FC
17%
22%
Acceptable FC
73%
60%
Age household head
Poor FC 36
Borderline FC 45
Acceptable FC 42

21. Food consumption area graph
Borderline food consumption
Poor food consumption
This graph aids in the interpretation and description of both dietary habits and in determining cut-offs for food consumption groups (FCGs).

22. Diet composition for each FCG
camerron

23. Deterioration in diet quality over time

24. Wealth quintiles by FCG
cambodia

25. The Coping Strategy Index (CSI)

26. Introduction
The CSI is a simple indicator that reveals how households manage or cope with shortfalls in food consumption. It is based on a list of possible behaviours (coping strategies)
CSI combines
The frequency of each strategy (how many times each strategy was adopted?)
Their severity (how serious is each strategy?)
Two types of CSIs exists:
Context-specific (livelihood) CSI
Reduced CSI

27. Why a reduced CSI?
The context-specific CSI cannot be used for comparative analysis. From field experience it has been noted that several coping strategies recur across different contexts
Therefore....

28. Reduced CSI A reduced CSI was developed It is based on:
A universal list of 5 coping strategies
Universal severity weights

29. Standard module
10. COPING STRATEGIES (core module)
In the past 7 days, were there times when you did not have enough food or money to buy food, did you have to?
0 = Not applied
1 = 1 day
2 = 2 days
3 = 3 days
4 = 4 days
5 = 5 days
6 = 6 days
7 = Everyday
10.01
Rely on less preferred and less expensive food
|____|
10.02
Borrow food or rely on help from relative(s) or friend(s)
10.03
Limit portion size at meals
10.04
Restrict consumption by adults in order for small children to eat
10.05
Reduce number of meals eaten in a day

30. Reduced CSI – Calculation

31. Reduced CSI: dataset Each strategy is a variable
Values are the frequencies
Note: If filter question is used, cells for households without food security problems need to be recoded to “0”

32. Computed variable in the dataset
CSI is a continuous variable
Mean CSI is the the main descriptive statistic

33. How can the CSI be used?
As a proxy indicator for food security (household food access)
To build profiles (identify who have to “struggle” the most)
To monitor trends over space and time
To compare between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries

34. CSI – across regions In which region are housheolds most stressed?
In which region are households least stressed?

35. Which livelihood groups are most stressed?

36. CSI: trend analysis and outcome monitoring
Beneficary vs. non-beneficiary

37. Weaknesses
Questions may be cultural sensitive ( could lead to underreporting, further validation of reduced CSI required to assess of valid across cultures)
There are no universal thresholds available.
Country-specific time intensive if used for the first time

38. Reference
Coping Strategy Index: Field Methods Manual” II edition (2008)

39. Livelihood based coping strategies module
The livelihoods-based coping strategies module is used to better understand longer-term coping capacity of households.
Household livelihood and economic status is determined by income, expenditures and assets.
By understanding the behaviours households have taken to adapt to recent crises, such as selling productive assets, we can get a rough sense of how difficult their current situation is, and how likely they would be able to meet challenges in the future.

40. Calculation of groups
The module has two columns, one for the list of strategies and one for the possible answers.
Each strategy has a severity weight, (1-4), each answer “b” and “c” in the module is then recoded as a 1,2, 3 or 4, (considered as a “yes”).

41. Severity values for each livelihood strategy
Master List ID***
Coping strategy
Category 1
Sold household assets/goods (radio, furniture, refrigerator, television, jewelry etc.)
2 = Stress 11
Reduced non-food expenses on health (including drugs) and education
3 = Crisis 9
Sold productive assets or means of transport (sewing machine, wheelbarrow, bicycle, car, etc..) 2
Spent savings 7
Borrowed money / food from a formal lender / bank 15
Sold ​house or land
4 = Emergency 10
Withdrew children from school 18
Sold last female animals 16
Begged 3
Sold more animals (non-productive) than usual

42. Example ‘Livelihood coping strategies module’
CHECK RANKING

43. Prevalence of different strategies

44. Interpretation
A higher score indicates more frequent and/or more severe coping strategies.
As a proxy indicator for food security (household food access)
To build profiles (identify who have to “struggle” the most)
To monitor trends over space and time
To compare between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries

45. Reporting (examples)
Livelihood coping
If the prevalence of households within the population group using each group of strategies is reported:
From the group of stress strategies used, describe which are the most common strategies used.
Describe the same for crisis and emergency strategies.
If one strategy within a group is much more frequent than others, it is worth describing that.

46. Expenditure Analysis

47. Food expenditures
Expenditure information is useful as a proxy for wider purchasing power, which is another important component of food access.
Households that devote most of the expenditures to buy food are more likely to have difficulties in acquiring adequate amount of food.
Generally speaking, the higher shares of total expenditures going towards food, the greater the likelihood a household has poor food access.
For households with low levels of income who cannot produce enough food for themselves, buying food becomes, de facto, the main priority.

48. Classification of households - based on share of expenditure on food
Percentage of expenditures on food:
< 50%
Low
50% - 65%
Medium
65% - 75%
High
>75%
Very high (very vulnerable to food insecurity)
Thresholds developed by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

49. Available expenditure data – questionnaire module
Household food expenditures
30 days recall
Household non-food expenditures
30 days, 3 months or 6 months recall
Cash estimates of non-purchased food
Sources of non-purchased food

50. Section 4 – Household Expenditures
Did you spend money on the following items during the last week for domestic consumption?
If ‘no’, enter ‘0’ and proceed to next food-item.
If ‘yes’, ask respondent to: estimate total cash expenditure on item for the last week.
(register the expenses according to local currency)
During the last week did your household consume the following items without purchasing them?
If no, enter ‘0’ and proceed to next food-item.
If yes, ask:
What was the main source of the item?
1=own production
2= gathering/hunting
3=donation/food aid/gift
4=credit
5=received in exchange for labour/items
Estimated value of the non-purchased food items consumed during the last week
(this question refers to the consumption reported in 4.02)
(local currency) 1.
Cereals (maize, rice, sorghum, wheat, bread) 2.
Tubers (sweet potatoes, cassava) 3.
Pulses (beans, peas, groundnuts) 4.
Fruits & vegetables 5.
Fish/Meat/Eggs/poultry 6.
Oil, fat, butter 7.
Milk, cheese, yogurt 8.
Sugar/Salt 9.
Tea/Coffee
Did you spend money on the following items during the last month for domestic consumption?
If none, write 0 and go to next item
Estimated expenditure during the last month
(register the expenses according to the currency in which it was done)
In the past 6 months how much money have you spent on each of the following items or service?
Use the following table, write 0 if no expenditure.
Estimated expenditure during the last six months
10.
Alcohol/Palma wine & Tobacco
17.
Medical expenses, health care
11.
Soap & HH items
18.
Clothing, shoes
12.
Transport
19.
Education, school fees, uniform, etc
13.
Fuel (wood, paraffin, etc.)
20.
Debt repayment
14.
Water
21.
Celebrations / social events
15.
Electricity/Lighting
22.
Agricultural inputs
16.
Communication (phone cards)
23.
Savings
24 .
Constructions or house repairs

51. Additional expenditure indicators
1. Total monthly household expenditures The total amount used for all possible household expenditures, converted to a monthly basis 2. Per capita total monthly expenditure The total household monthly expenditure divided by the number of household members 3. Per capita monthly food expenditure The total household monthly food expenditure divided by the number of household members 4. Share of expenditures on specific food and non-food items (i.e., cereals, meat, education, etc.).

52. Calculation Steps (1)
Total expenditures on food items: Sum all the expenditures and estimated expenditures for the purchased and non-purchased food items
(e.g., $wheat + $rice +…+$meat = total food exp)
Total expenditures on non-food items (collected on monthly basis): Sum of all the expenditures for the non-food items collected on monthly basis
(e.g., $kerosene + $rent +…+ $tobacco = total non-food exp short term)
Total expenditures on non-food items (collected on long term period): Divide the long term expenditures by 6 and sum.
(e.g., $edu/6 + $health/6 +…+ $ceremonies/6 = total non-food exp long term)

53. Calculation steps (2) Total monthly household expenditures:
Sum of all household expenditures
Monthly total expenditure on food items +
Monthly total expenditures on non-food item (short term) +
Monthly total expenditures on non food items (long term)

54. Calculations steps (3)
Share of expenditures on food: Divide the total food expenditures by the total expenditures
High Percentage of expenditures on food: The guideline is to recode the above variable into 4 categories:
1 = <50% (low)
2 = 50%–65% (medium)
3 = 65%–75% (high)
4 = >75% (very high (very vulnerable to food insecurity))

55. Calculations steps (4)
Share of expenditures on specific food items: Divide the expenditure of a specific food item by the total expenditure on all food items.
Share of expenditures on specific non-food Items: Divide the expenditure of a specific non food item by the total expenditure on all non food items.

56. Types of variables & Statistics
Share of expenditure on food is a continuous variable
Analysis is based on:
Means (or medians, if the distribution is not normal)
Means comparisons
by regions
by food consumption groups
by livelihood groups
by wealth quintiles

57. Types of variables & Statistics
Households classified into very high, high, medium and low share of expenditure on food is a categorical variable
Analysis is based on:
Cross-tabulations
by regions
by food consumption groups
by livelihood groups
by wealth quintiles

58. Concerns
Quality, reliability and accuracy of expenditure data have often been questioned.
Expenditures vary seasonally (i.e., bulk purchases of staple foods).
Cleaning/checking expenditure data is very important especially when it comes to identifying outliers. (consider the per capita values !)
Consumption of non-purchased food. The economic vulnerability of households that are home-producers can be underestimated

59. Considerations for interpretation
Some households have a lower share of food expenditure because they rely on their own production.
Better-off households may spend a high proportion on costly food items (e.g. meat), which might increase the percentage they spend on food.
Investigate the types of items being prioritized!

60. Reporting: Charts

61. Reporting: Tables Livelihood groups:
Share of total expenditure spent on food (mean):
Artisans
50%
Unskilled labour
47%
Fishermen
44%
Agro-pastoralists
42%
Food processors
40%
Regular employees
39%
Agriculturalists
Traders
38%

62. Expenditure share: example

63. Questions?

64. Let’s practice!